Click

I managed to keep my cool about the whole secret-crush-on-Blade thing for two weeks—figuring that it was just a tiny crush and that it would last about six days or so before I realized it was nothing but admiration for his charm and good looks.

Although, that was after the first day back to school because I was really antsy about the whole thing. I could tell that Blade knew something was up with me that day when I got to science class.

“What’s up with you?” he had asked me. “Your face is all red.”

I wanted to shove my whole head in freezing cold water at that point, or cover my cheeks to save face but there was no way out of this.

“I’m hot,” I replied. “It’s um . . . it’s hot today.”

Blade raised his eyebrows. “It’s like the middle of February. How are you hot?”

I shifted in my seat and cleared my throat. “Oh . . . my sweater’s really thick.”

“Oh, really?” Blade smirked, amused. “Or are you just flustered? Am I making you flustered?” He ran a hand through his hair slowly and my eyes widened as I watched him. He chuckled. “Although, I can’t say I’m surprised. What, with my cute face and devilish charm.”

He winked at me.

I knew he was just teasing me, just joking around, but I also knew that he was aware something was up with me and the fact that he was taking that as an opportunity to practically torture me without really realizing it had kind of gotten on my nerves.

“Everyone pair up with your lab partners from Friday!” Mrs. Adams called.

My eyes narrowed at Blade slightly. “I know you think your charm works on anyone but I don’t,” I said, standing up, gathering my binder and pencil case off the table and turning away from a shell-shocked Blade.

After that, he didn’t say anything, and I wanted to keep it that way. He must’ve figured I was mad at him and didn’t want to bother me just in case I snapped at him again.

I didn’t actually mean what I said to him though. I only said it to avoid humiliation, and also because I didn’t think he was charming. I knew he was.

And the reason I was starting to act weird around him was because it had been fourteen days now, and I still felt like there were feelings there. They wouldn’t go away and the sudden realization was scaring me, because I really didn’t want to wake up and admit that I liked Blade. It’s like admitting defeat, and if I were to tell anyone, there would be no way it would be kept a secret and by the end of the day, Blade was bound to know about my feelings.

That could not happen.

As for Marcy and Kayti, they were not so keen on the whole mouths-closed and subtle glances when it came to noticing that something was different with me.

“What’s with you?” Marcy asked, slamming her shoulder against the locker beside me, making me jump and flinch.

“Doesn’t that hurt?” I asked her. She poked me in the side and I squeaked.

“Answer the question,” she said.

“Yeah,” an equally curious Kayti agreed, slamming against the locker on the opposite side. I swore under my breath.

“Whoever’s locker that is isn’t going to be happy if you broke something in there,” I said, fishing inside of my pocket to make sure there was money in there. When I was satisfied, I closed my locker and turned around, avoiding Kayti and Marcy screaming out to me obscenely. Of course, I couldn’t avoid them forever since they cornered me when I was waiting in the cafeteria lineup.

“Seriously. What’s going on?” Marcy asked. “You were fine at my house and now, you’re like . . . like . . .”

I looked over at her and raised my eyebrows, waiting to see what she’d think of.

“Okay, I can’t come up with a metaphor or someone to relate you to right now, but it’s not good,” she said, pouting and crossing her arms over her chest. “Just tell us!” She stomped her foot on the ground.

I rolled my eyes. “All right, fine. You know Blade?”

“No. I have no idea who Blade is,” she said sarcastically, tilting her head to the side and narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

I grunted. “Don’t get attitude-y with me. I’m doing you a favour, remember? I could just not tell you, if that’s what you want.” I walked into the cafeteria and headed for the freezer at the back with Kayti following me silently. Marcy got stuck by the entrance not even one step inside because she had a bag with her, and the cafeteria lady was shrieking at her from behind the counter to leave it outside. Marcy refused though, and just decided to wait outside. I grabbed a Pepsi from the freezer and shut the door, standing in the line for the hot foods.

“Can I ask you what’s going on?” Kayti said.

“Depends. Are you going to be hostile?”

She shook her head innocently and grabbed a bag of raisins off the shelf.

“All right. Well . . . I kind of . . . like Blade.”

“Well duh. You two are really good friends. Why wouldn’t you like him?” she said, scoffing and shrugging, turning to face the cafeteria lady on the other side of the counter blocked by glass and extremely warm food.

“Kayti,” I grumbled. She looked over at me and I widened my eyes, waiting for her to catch on.

“What?” she asked. “I don’t get it.”

I sighed. “You take your time,” I said, turning away from her to the lady who handed me a panzarotti after I pointed to it. I looked at Kayti again, whose mouth slowly opened into an “O” shape, as well as her eyes.

“Oh!” she exclaimed. “Oh! You like him. Ooooh, okay. Now I’ve got it.”

“Don’t tell Marcy,” I said, nodding in said-person’s direction. “I don’t want to give her the satisfaction.” She nodded and took a plate of spaghetti.

“Got it,” she agreed, following me to one of the men behind the cash register. I handed him some money, mumbling “keep the change” on my way out and met up with Marcy. Kayti followed shortly behind.

“So? Are you going to tell me now?” she asked.

I opened my mouth to say that there was nothing to tell—even though it would be a complete lie but she had the biggest mouth out of the three of us—until Kayti, who walked up beside me, decided it would be appropriate to speak up.

“Chris likes Blade!” she squeaked, grinning.

“Wh—” I began, looking at her with wide eyes and a mouth half opened in shock and betrayal. “Hey! I trusted you!”

“Oh come on. Are you crazy, trusting me?” she asked, putting her hands out to the side. Marcy squealed happily. She was sounding more and more like Amanda every day.

“Eee! That is so sweet!” she exclaimed, latching onto my arm.

I shrugged her off and took a step back. “No, it’s not! It’s like a . . . disease!”

Kayti laughed. “Oh come on, we all saw it coming,” she said. “After Mr. Sadusky told you two to act out the skit where you had to hold his hands for a whole ten minutes, you have no idea how red your face went. What’s going on with you two anyway? I hardly see you two talking to each other anymore.”

I shrugged. “I kind of overreacted and freaked out at him a while back,” I said, sitting down at one of the tables and crossing my arms on the top of it. Kayti and Marcy sat down across from me. “He tried apologizing and told me he was kidding around. I’ve just been in a bad mood ever since I found out . . . you know.”

Marcy nodded and opened up her sandwich, taking off a pickle and tossing it over her shoulder, not really caring where it landed—which just happened to be in the middle of a table where the really artsy students sat. They all exclaimed their shock and looked up at the roof, thinking more pickles were about to fall on their heads.

“Uh, you know Marcy, some people don’t like that,” I said, raising my eyebrows.

She shrugged. “So . . .” she drawled, completely ignoring my earlier comment and beginning to take the crust off of her bread like usual. “What’re you going to do?”

I shrugged and cut my food in half. “I don’t know. I guess I’ll just keep quiet. He’s got Amanda anyway.”

Kayti scoffed. “I doubt he likes her.”

I sat up straighter, remembering the conversation him and I had several weeks ago about how people just expected them to go out, and he didn’t actually ask her. “Yeah,” I grumbled, putting my elbow on the table and my cheek in my hand. Marcy raised her eyebrows at me.
“Come on, Chris. Cheer up,” she said. “You’ll get him eventually. Besides, there are like a billion other hot guys in this school. Choose from one of them. Like Nick!”

“No thanks,” I said. “I don’t want just any random guy.”

Kayti smiled. “That’s right,” she said, nodding. “You want Blade.”


I saw him in fifth, like usual, and decided to sit with him and apologize because I knew that he was just joking around, but I didn’t have to go as far as I did just because of one little irritation.

He looked over at me from the corner of his eye and shifted uncomfortably in his chair, clearing his throat.

“Um . . . hi,” he said, almost as if he were nervous. Most likely thinking that I was going to blow up at him again. However, he’d been acting this way the whole week so I couldn’t really say I’d be surprised.

I just shrugged. “Sorry,” I said. “Girl issues.”

Blade raised his eyebrows at me, as if waiting for me to go on.

I shook my head. “PMS—” I began to lie but he put up a hand, squeezing his eyes tightly together.

“Too much information,” he said, laughing lightly.

I smiled.

And everything was fine again.